Tag Archive for 'friends'

A change… Some thoughts

Published
by
Anthony Thompson
on August 12, 2008
in Movies and future
. Comments

First, I’ve decided to re-institute the daily Twitter digest.  So, every day, you can have my 140 character little thoughts as they flow from me five or six at a time.  If you don’t like it… too bad. :D

Second, yesterday, I helped Jerry shoot Dustin’s short that will be shown at the KIFF in September.  It was another one of those shoots where I didn’t feel very useful, but in actuality, I know that I was.  I mean, boom mics can’t hold themselves up and dip into frame.

I think I am a lot like Jerry, I really need to be in control of everything to really feel like I accomplished something.  Regardless, the shoot went off the whole day without any major hitches in its getalong.  We got all the major elements of the story even while making some slight changes here and there.  Our two main actresses were absosmurfly phenomenal.  They knocked their roles right out of the park and were extremely patient when many others were getting impatient after multiple takes, or if they were getting frustrated with us, it didn’t show.  Some things in the script were just not quite possible with the resources and time we had.  This time we had an actual DP where I was, once again, the 1st AD, a role, at which, I need to improve.  One thing I know I need to do is actually learn the names of those I’m working with.  Of course, there was a time very close to the shoot that I almost wasn’t able to make it, but I suppose that’s not really an excuse.

I don’t care what anyone says, Wikipedia is an awesome resource for a lot of things.

Hopefully the final project will be put up on Vimeo rather than YouTube.  I really like how well Vimeo treats the source material, like a peg that fits snugly into place.  Whereas YouTube smashes the video with a steel mallet until it comes out as a twisted, terrible facsimile of its former self.  Nope, not biased.

On a semi-related note, Kelsey, my sister-in-law, may very well have a future as a makeup artist for our future projects if we can get her.  What she did with some acryllic paint was awesome, I just wish it wasn’t water-soluble.  The cut mark she painted looked very real from where I was standing on Dustin’s sink.  You read that right.  It did wash/wipe off halfway through the first take, but that’s the paint’s, the water’s, and the towel’s fault, not her’s.

Btw, if you want a red color in a bath to stay, try not to have the drain open.

Well, I need to get to bed.  You have a good night and a good day.

To All the Good People I Know

Published
by
Anthony Thompson
on April 4, 2008
in Rambling and Self Realization
. Comments

This post is about Good People Day 2008. I posted about it on Wednesday.  I started writing this yesterday, but I didn’t have time to finish it and this isn’t one of those things that I felt could be rushed.  This is to all the good people in my life.  Be prepared for some gushy writing.

I will give a shout-out to Gary Vaynerchuk.  He is first because he started this Good People Day thing.  Upon further self-reflection, it amazes me that it took someone else, who I don’t even know, to appreciate all the good people.  So, this is to you Gary.

This one goes out to Mike.  This guy has been so awesome to accept me into his life and his home.  He is a really a great inspiration for me to just get off my ass and do what I love.  I know I talk about all these famous people I follow on Twitter and whatnot, but when I really think about people who have inspired me personally, Mike is really at the top of the list.

Then there is Mike’s wife, Mary.  She is an animal-lover and just an overall fun-loving kind of person and is one of those people that when you spend some time around, you just feel a little better about your day and just can’t help but smile if not laugh.  I admit, I don’t talk to or spend as much time hanging out with Mary and much as I do her husband, but she is still a fun person to hang with and sometimes, that’s really all you need to do.

Kody is another one of those guys that is an inspiration.  This guy is so god-damned talented it’s sick.  He isn’t elitist about it either and is more than willing to help you learn about anything he is into.  He has really inspired me, much like Mike, to just get off my ass and get out there and do what I love and just see where it leads me.  Kody is definitely right next to Mike on my list of inspirational people.

Ryan is one of those guys that everyone needs in their life.  He doesn’t take any shit from anyone.  He will tell you straight up if you are being a moron or whatnot.  Granted, I haven’t seen or heard him say as much, but he seems like the kind of guy that would.  That is really the inspiration I get from Ryan.  Sadly, I don’t know a lot about Ryan because he is a lot like me in that he is somewhat quiet and a little reserved.  Until you hit one of his buttons and then you have a whirlwind on your hands.  I have to say, it shows me what people should really be like.  Once you find something that you are really passionate about, let people know.

Steve is a friend of mine that I have had for a while now.  He stayed one of my friends when I was going through a rough time dealing with a former friend, also one of Steve’s friends.  Since then, he never really wanted to talk about all that shit that happened, which I took, at first for just not wanting to talk about it.  Now, I realize that he was really trying to tell me that it doesn’t matter.  Friends are your friends and it shouldn’t matter who else is or is not your friend.  Steve also is an inspiration in that he is wanting to follow the same career path as myself.  He doesn’t have any formal university-level training, but that doesn’t really seem to matter to him.  He is doing what he loves despite whether you are sent overseas by the Army.  He isn’t seeing it as a roadblock, but an opening to do what he loves while is is on deployment.

Adam is another of those friends that made me realize that friends are friends, no matter what.  He is a rather giving and caring individual, no matter what his exterior will impress upon you.  If he asks you a question about something, he is actually, genuinely interested in what you have to say.

The last good person that I want to talk about is my wife, Lexy.  She is such a hard working person that it amazes me how much of a bipedal tornado I am married to.  She, like Ryan, isn’t one to take shit from anyone.  She is crazy talented, she can make you smile, and is one inspiring individual.  Every time I get mopy and talk about what I want to do, but I can’t because of this or that, she pretty much tells me that I can do it if I really wanted to and should go do it.  She just kicks me in the ass and tells me to go out and do what I love.

That’s about all the good people that I know personally.  All of these people I have chosen to talk about do things not only for themselves, but for other people.  They think nothing of putting other people first.  If you aren’t on this list, please, it isn’t because I don’t like you or don’t think you are an overall good person.  I have my reasons for shouting out certain people and not others.

I hope the day after Good People Day is good enough. :D

Looks Around

Published
by
Anthony Thompson
on February 18, 2008
in Apple, Bitching, Drama, Home, Rambling and Work
. Comments

Things are changing for Lexy and I, so I decided to change the look of this here site.  I like it, makes it look a bit more “bloggy” somehow.  There is some work to be done with the sidebars, but I can’t figure out what I need to do.  Suggestions are welcome.

The two of us have decided that we are getting out of this money blackhole we call a house.  Its not that the house is falling apart or anything, it is that we are tired of financially supporting those who promised to pay their share on time, when money is due, but have failed to uphold that end of the bargain.  It is sad when those around you decide to treat you not as friends, but as landlords or utility companies.  It is fine if you don’t feel like paying a bill for two or three months, but when you fuck with our future, our credit, there is a line to be drawn.  That is essentially the crux of the problem.  The only people we know in this area, our friends, have not been treating us as friends and that I cannot stand.  I’m not a complete hardass.  I understand that people come on hard times and they don’t make as much money as they would normally, but Lexy supported this house when she didn’t have a job and nobody thought to say, “Hey, let me help take some of that burden.  Let’s share the responsibilities of this house.”  I told many this when we first moved in.  These situations destroy friendships much faster that natural erosion and that is exactly what happened.  My will and want to help other people has plummeted.  Lexy and I have helped keep people afloat in this house with no reciprocation that I just don’t see them as friends anymore.  Really, I see them as people I can’t wait to get out of my life, and that really saddens me.

Yes, the lease on this house is not up yet, but the landlord has been very accommodating and we have a plan that will keep him in a rent check.  The next step is to get a hold of him and present it.  I will keep you updated.

So, Lexy and I have decided to bid adieu to this house, and thus our Warrensburg friends, in favor of a place, hopefully, in Odessa, MO.  The idea is that Odessa is between where Lexy works and where we go to school.  It will also be beneficial to be closer to KC when I go in for the interviews at the Apple Store.

That’s right, I have an interview at the Apple Store in KC.  Actually, I have two more interviews.  I did the phone interview on Friday and am fairly certain that I did extremely well.  Now I have a “group” interview, which I’m not sure what that means, but if I get through that, then I go on to the one-on-one interview.  The idea that was set up by the interviewer over the phone is that I will start as a Mac Specialist as part-time and move on to a Creative position when I can start working full-time.  I am super excited to have an even remote opportunity to work for Apple in really any capacity.

That’s is pretty much a rehashing of everything that is happening in my life right now.